Bronchitis: Acute, Chronic Bronchitis Symptoms, Treatment, Herbal Remedies

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What is Bronchitis?

Bronchitis is classified as acute and chronic bronchitis.

Acute bronchitis

Acute Bronchitis is defined as acute infection of mucous membrane of trachea and bronchi by virus, bacteria or irritants.

Causes of Acute Bronchitis

The precipitating factors are

Infections from throat or sinuses which can be viral or bacterial.
Complications of other diseases like measles, whooping cough etc.
Physical and chemical irritants like dust and gases.
Allergic bronchitis due to inhalation of pollens or organic dusts.

Signs and symptoms of Acute Bronchitis

Malaise, fever, palpitation, sweating, dry tickling cough which is followed by cough with expectoration which is mucopurulent with pain.
Choked feeling with paroxysms of dyspnoea or difficulty in breathing.
Diffuse bilateral ronchi with rales at base after 2-3 days.
Prolonged expiration with expiratory wheeze is seen.

Treatment of Acute Bronchitis

It includes rest, broncho-dialators, and appropriate antibiotics.

Chronic Bronchitis

Chronic bronchitis is characterized by productive cough due to excess mucus secretion in bronchial tree for at least 3 months of the years for at least 2 consecutive years. In chronic bronchitis there is hyper secretion of bronchial mucous glands causing hypertrophy of mucous glands and leading to metaplastic formation of mucin secreting goblet cells in surface epithelium of bronchi.
Types of chronic bronchitis are-

Chronic simple bronchitis and
Chronic muco-purulent bronchitis.

Causes of chronic bronchitis

Infection as result of acute bronchitis and other infective locus in upper respiratory tracts.
Smoking.
Air-pollution e.g. industrial fumes.

Symptoms of chronic bronchitis

Cough which is paroxysmal or constant aggravation with winter or exposure to cold winds or sudden change of temperature.
Expectoration- it can be variable, little, thin or mucoid, sticky or thick or mucopurulent during attacks of acute bronchitis.
Dyspnoea- in advanced cases as seen. Breathing is quick and wheezing is present even at rest.
Fever is usually absent except in acute exacerbations.
There is cyanosis sometimes prolonged expiration, wide spread ronchi of variable pitch marked in expiration, crepitations at the base of the lungs on auscultation.
Investigations: chest x-rays may be normal. Infected episodes may produce patchy shadows of irregular distribution due to pulmonary consolidation.

Treatment of chronic bronchitis

It includes removal of cause if possible.
Prevention of acute exacerbations, avoiding over heated rooms, damp places, over feeding and alcohol.
Measures to be taken to arrest the progress of chronic diseases by increasing person’s resistance power with healthy diet, physical exercises in open fresh air, encouraging deep breathing, pranayam and few yoga exercises which can improve the vital capacity of lungs.
Medications like anti-tussives or mucolytic nebulisation with bronchodilators if wheeze antibiotics as needed.

Herbal management of chronic bronchitis

One teaspoon of ginger juice mixed with honey, should be taken thrice a day in bronchitis
Basil leaves, ginger and black pepper should be taken in equal quantity and boiled in 50 ml of water. This water should be boiled till it is reduced to half. This should be taken 3 times a day.
Liquorice is to be chewed over a period of few hours gives relief.
Take 1 teaspoon of Jusanda powder add to it a cup of water. Boil it till half of it remains. Add some sugar or honey and take it at bed time and in morning before breakfast.
2 grams of pure turmeric powder is well mixed in a cup of warm milk and this should be taken twice a day. This effectively checks the cough of bacterial origin. This should be continued for 15 days at least.

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